Such connector brackets are used on semitrailer trucks, after a mechanical coupling of the semitrailer, to also connect the supply lines of the tractor vehicle to the semitrailer in largely automated fashion, so that the driver no longer has to climb between the tractor and the semitrailer and plug in the connection lines there, especially for the compressed air and electricity supply, by hand.
One prior art of this kind is disclosed by DE 2004 024 333 A1 with a plug-in coupling system, in which a plug-in device on the semitrailer with a connector arranged stationary therein is introduced into a socket arranged underneath the insertion opening. For this, the plug-in device on the semitrailer is brought to a level beneath the king pin and, when the tractor and semitrailer are mechanically coupled, and it is inserted into a socket arranged on the same level beneath the insertion opening.
In order to prevent premature wear and fouling, it is proposed in DE 10 2006 033 899 A1 to arrange the connector on the semitrailer on a closure plate which can travel vertically relative to the support frame, which moves the connector downward from the protecting support frame immediately prior to the insertion process, thereby making possible a coupling with the socket on the tractor.
In both known systems, the connector lies essentially or just prior to the connecting of the supply lines on a level beneath the king pin or beneath the insertion opening of the fifth wheel, in order to ensure that the king pin can move in and out of the fifth wheel. It has been found to be a drawback with this that when the fifth wheel has an especially low design height or the tractor has a very high rear axle the low lying connector can collide with components of the tractor.
Consequently, the problem on which the invention is based was to provide a connector bracket on the trailer that lessens the risk of damage to the connector from components of the tractor.